Overview

• The ROV Subastian is streaming high-definition footage from up to 4,500 meters, revealing dozens of previously unrecorded deep-sea species
• The YouTube broadcast now averages more than 1.6 million views per day, making it one of Argentina’s most-watched live scientific transmissions
• Audiences have nicknamed newfound creatures after SpongeBob characters—most notably the starfish “Patricio” and the snail “Gary”—fueling social-media trends
• Educational programs including sticker albums and classroom resources have been launched to bring deep-sea discoveries into schools
• Researchers have leveraged the expedition’s popularity to protest a 21% real-terms budget cut and 35% salary decline at CONICET, staging a 48-hour strike